Paul's Biggest Secret
by goldensphere
Summary: Ever wondered what Paul's deepest darkest secret is? Leave it to his friends to find out!


**Hello everyone! Here's another one-shot. Enjoy reading!**

 **I do not own Pokémon in any way.**

* * *

"Truth or dare, Ash?" challenged Gary with a taunting grin as they sat under their usual oak tree at lunch break.

"Umm, truth."

"No, you have to choose dare."

"No, I don't. You asked me and I said truth."

"But you always choose that!"

"Of course I do! You always give horrible dares such as follow random people around and ask where they live!"

"That's the main point of the game, Ash!"

"Is not! You can't make me do such—"

"Yes I can! That's why it's call truth or—"

"But—"

"Guys! Guys! Chill it!" interrupted Drew loudly. "Gary, Ash chose truth so ask a question. No more arguing."

"Fine," grumbled Gary. Just then, an evil grin spread across his face. "My question is, what is your deepest darkest secret?"

Ash widened his eyes. "Y-You can't ask that!" he exclaimed shrilly.

"Yes I can."

"No—"

"Ahem!" Drew interrupted their argument again. "Ash, you have to answer the question. It's the rules."

Ash turned red and looked down, scratching the back of his head.

"Well..."

"Go on."

"Ok, fine... I—I—I sleep with a potato!" he blurted out.

"You _what_?" The other two boys looked at him in disbelief.

"Well... You see, it gives me good dreams..."

"What kind of dreams does one get while sleeping with a potato?!" cried Gary.

For a moment, Ash grew dreamy. "You know, a potato can feel like many things," he explained. "You need to use your imagination. For example, perhaps it could be a package specifically addressed to you. Who knows what could be in it? Like Pokéballs with all sorts of cool new Pokémon!"

"Or a package of fresh new soaps and bottles of shampoos!" added Drew excitedly.

"Yeah! And—"

"Okay, okay! I get the point!" said Gary. "Who's turn is it now? Oh yeah, Ash, you ask Paul."

Both Drew and Ash turned and looked under the shadow of the tree. They had forgotten Paul was even there.

Ash didn't have to even bother asking truth or dare because he already knew what Paul was going to say. He thought for a second; then he asked, "Paul, what's _your_ deepest and darkest secret?"

"I don't have one," Paul replied right away.

"Don't lie," snickered Gary. "Everyone has one, and you know that you do too."

"No I don't," the boy repeated. "And even if I did, why would I tell you?"

"Oooh! So that means you _do_ have a biggest secret!" taunted Gary.

"You can trust us, Paul," said Drew. "We're your friends!"

"Hn," The boy shrugged in reply.

"P _aaul_!" Ash whined. Before anyone could say anything more, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch break.

Paul shrugged. "I'm going to class," he mumbled, and walked away.

The other three boys looked at one another without saying anything.

"Guys," Gary said finally. "I think we have another mystery to solve."

* * *

"Are you sure?" asked May as she and her friends were walking home after school. "Are you really, really sure?"

"I'm positive!" Dawn repeated for the fifth time. "I'm sorry May, but the party is cancelled!"

"But _Dawn_!" May clung to her friend's arm. " _Why_?"

"Because Dawn's mom is really busy and doesn't want to be disturbed!" Misty answered for her. "Now would you _please_ stop _complaining_ about it?!" she sighed impatiently.

"B-but we can't just _die_ of _boredom_ here!" cried May. " _People_! We need some entertainment!"

"Hmm," Leaf thought out loud. "I wonder what the guys are doing."

Misty smiled slyly. "Hey, do you guys want to go and pester Paul again?" she asked.

The other three agreed laughing, and they all headed towards Paul's house.

* * *

"Ash! You're sitting on my foot!" hissed Gary as they hid behind the Goji-Berry bush in Paul's backyard.

"I'm sorry Gary, but it's so cramped and prickly in here!"

"But this was your idea!"

"Sshh!" whispered Drew frantically. "I think I hear someone coming!"

Gary groaned. "Ash, why did you spit on my shoe?"

"Eww, these Goji-Berries are so bitter!" exclaimed Ash. "How does Paul even eat them?"

"Ash! Shush!" repeated Drew in almost a rasp. "Someone is walking nearby our hideout. I see three—wait, no. _Four_ silhouettes there."

"Who could it be?" Ash whispered loudly.

"Ssshhhh!"

"Hey stop that! You're spitting on— mmph!"

Gary quickly clasped his had around Ash's mouth, but it was too late. The four figures were now heading towards them.

"Uh-oh," Drew muttered under his breath. " _Busted_."

They sat there frozen, as the figures came closer and closer. A hand reached out and pushed aside the leaves and a face peered at them.

"Dawn?" said Drew and Gary together.

"Dwnf?" said Ash, trying to unclasp Gary's strong hand from his mouth.

Gary finally let go of Ash's mouth and his own mouth dropped open.

A few seconds later, Leaf's, Misty's, and May's face also peered in.

"Um, what are guys doing in there?" asked May curiously.

"Sshh. This is our hideout!" explained Drew is a hushed voice.

"Uhhh..." The girls glanced at each other.

"I can explain," said Ash unexpectedly. "You see, we are on a big mission on solving Paul's biggest secret since he wouldn't tell us. We are hiding here until he goes out of his house, then we would sneak in his room and look for clues."

The boy ended his sentence with a serious nod, but got four weird looks in return.

Leaf rolled her eyes. "And you guys are seriously going to wait, no matter how long it takes, until the guy comes out of his house." There was a touch of exasperation in her voice.

"When will they ever learn?" mumbled Dawn, shaking her head.

"What?" demanded Ash, starting to get annoyed. "It's a genius plan! Even Gary agreed with me!"

Gary sunk lower on the ground, looking guilty and red with shame.

" _Genius plan indeed_ ," said Misty sarcastically. "Don't you know that he has an older brother who would probably still be home if he leaves?"

"And also," added May reasonably. "Even if his brother went with him by any chance, they would surely lock the doors behind. Then how will you get in?"

"Now when you put it that..." Drew trailed off as he carefully slipped out of their hiding spot.

Ash and Gary did the same.

"Guys, we need a better plan than this," sighed Leaf. "No offence, but your guys' plan would _never_ work, you know. Sometimes it's hard to believe that you guys are even ten!"

"One," said Gary. "Since when did we invite _you_ girls to this mission? And two," he said with a glare. "All of us here are _not_ ten. Only Ash and Drew are. Me and Paul are _eleven_!"

"Hah," Leaf smirked. "And then _Mr. Oldest_ Guy makes a grammar mistake! It's Paul and _I,_ for your information."

"Whatever," replied Gary with a shrug. "But we are _still_ not letting you guys join our mission."

"You guys are in need of some better plans," Misty pointed out. "I'm pretty sure you won't be able to do it by yourselves!"

Gary scowled. He knew they were right, but he didn't say anything.

"Well?" asked May expectantly. "May we join your mission?"

"Fine, fine," sighed Drew who was secretly happy that they joined. It would make things more interesting in his opinion. "If you want, _October_." he added with a smirk, causing May to frown.

"My name is _May_ ," she said.

"I was just joking, _April,"_ said Drew tauntingly. "It's okay. I know your real name is _January_."

Gary snorted. Before May could argue any more, Leaf interrupted.

"It's sad to see that you still mix up your months, Drew," she said with an 'I-know-everything' smile. "No wonder your name is still past tense."

"What are you even talking about?" the boy replied whilst narrowing his eyes.

"You don't even know _that_?" Leaf snickered despite all the confused faces that were looking at her now. "Don't you know the past tense of draw is _drew_. And that is exactly what you are. A _past tense_."

"That is the lamest joke I have ever heard," Drew mumbled.

" _Guys_!" cried Ash impatiently. "What about the mission?"

"Oh yeah," said Dawn. "Remember the mission?"

"Oh wait!" exclaimed May, hopping up and down excitedly. "I've got the _perfect_ plan!"

* * *

"I can't believe I am actually doing this," Ash mumbled to himself. He cleared his throat and stood underneath Paul's bedroom window. "Hey _Paul_!" he yelled as loudly as he could. "Paul! Look down!"

A rather annoyed face peered out of the black-curtained window.

"What do you want?" Paul grumbled.

"Um..Uh.."

 _What do I want?_ Ash did some quick thinking. He was in charge of keeping Paul distracted.

"If you don't have anything to say," said Paul. "Go away. You're wasting my time."

Saying that, Paul was about to turn back when Ash suddenly yelled, "Wait! _Stop!_ "

" _What?_ " the plum-head said impatiently.

"Um..Um.." Ash said the first thing that came to his mind. "Your hair is so purple!"

"Uhhh..." Paul looked at him with a bizarre expression. " _What?"_

* * *

Meanwhile...

"You ring the doorbell," whispered Dawn.

"No, _you_ ring the doorbell," May whispered back.

"It was your idea so _you—_ "

"How about _I_ ring the doorbell," said Drew calmly, stepping towards the door. He rung the bell, and as expected, Reggie opened the door.

"Oh hello you guys," he said looking slightly surprised. "What brings you all here?"

Nobody replied. But before Reggie could get any suspicion, May spoke up.

"Oh, we just came to visit Paul," she said, slightly fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. "You know, um, just to say hi and stuff."

"Oh that's nice." Paul's brother smiled. "I'll go call him."

"No!" May cried just as he was about to yell. "I-I mean..." She felt her cheeks turn a tinge of pink.

"Uh, we'll just go up and say hi to him ourselves," Misty quickly said. "Alone." She gave him her most 'innocent' smile.

"Um, okay," Reggie slightly hesitated before stepping aside to let them in.

"Let's go," whispered Misty to the others with the corner of her mouth. The six pre-teens quietly headed upstairs, leaving a really confused Reggie behind.

* * *

"My hair does _not_ look _anything_ like amethyst, you _fool_!" Paul shouted angrily out the window.

"Yeah, right!" Ash shouted back. "It looks more like, um, like a grape popsicle I once had!"

Ash never thought he would ever have this much fun arguing with Paul and making him angry. Boy, was he wrong.

"Too bad that popsicle didn't choke you to death!" Paul yelled back. "Because that would have done me a _great_ favour!"

May, Drew, Dawn, Misty, Gary, and Leaf tiptoed towards Paul's bedroom. Carefully, Leaf managed to open the door without the boy hearing. They all tiptoed from behind him, as he was telling Ash that he didn't even like grapes, and went straight into his closet whilst closing the door behind. Fortunately, Ash was doing a great job in keeping Paul distracted.

They had never seen the inside of Paul's closet. He had always kept it closed when they were in his room, and if anyone even tried to take a peek in it, he would give them a blood-freezing death glare.

It was much bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside. They had been expecting to see organized shelves or stack of books. Instead, the floor was completely covered in pillows and blankets, making it into a cozy little place. The blankets were rather bumpy as if there was stuff hidden underneath. There was dim light given from the light bulb above, and surprisingly, the inside walls of the closet were painted sky-blue with a black and white elite four poster on one side.

'What now?' May mouthed to the others as they settled of the blankets and pillows.

"Let's start by looking underneath the blankets," whispered Gary. "We might find something."

Leaf pulled out a sticker-book she had found in a pillow-case.

"Well this is interesting," she muttered as she flipped through the pages. "Never thought _Paul_ would have this."

Dawn suddenly gasped. "Look what I found," she whispered with a giggle. "Isn't he the cutest thing?"

The others turned around to see what she was saying. There, she held up a stuffie of a dull-coloured greyish-blue donkey with a black mane.

"Uh, isn't that like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh?" asked Drew in a voice that was a bit louder than a whisper.

"Aww, he's sho adowable!" cooed May in a low voice so Paul wouldn't hear. "Can _I_ hold him, Dawn? _Please?_ "

Dawn handed it to May, who hugged it and planted a little kiss on its mane.

"He's so _soft_ ," she whispered, rubbing it on her cheek.

"How did the poor guy end up with someone like Paul?" sighed Misty referring to the donkey. "He must be so lonely alone in this closet."

The six pre-teens sat quietly for a moment, pitying poor Eeyore. (The girls were pitying, to be more specific.)

Just then, a voice from somewhere outside broke their silence.

"Roses are red, violets are blue!" Ash sang to Paul at the top of his lungs. "But not anymore! Because of your hair! HAHAHA!"

The two boys and four girls that were in the closet glanced at each other. _Ash was going too far now,_ they knew.

"Get it?" they heard him yell. "Because violet is also a type of purple and your hair—"

"What is going on here?" a puzzled voice was heard outside, causing them to freeze.

" _Thank_ you, Reggie," they heard Paul mumble as he walked away from the window.

"I-I-I," stammered Ash. "I-I... Ehehe... Well, you see..."

"Please don't sell us out, Ash," whispered Gary, who for the first time looked terrified. " _Please_."

May hugged tighter to the Eeyore, and Drew bit his lip.

"I-I... I GOTTA RUN!" exclaimed Ash as he dashed off.

"Wait... What?" Reggie called after him. It took him a while to realize what had happened, but it was too late. Ash had escaped.

The six did a silent celebration in the closet. Ash had escaped without telling. The weren't going to get caught.

 _Or were they?_

Just at the same moment, Misty's phone started to ring. She had forgotten that it was in her pocket and had forgotten to turn off the ringer.

'Brrrringringring~! Brrrringringring~!' it rang loud and clear. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket and turned it off, but two rings were enough to get them busted. Paul had surely heard it. The girl got a text message from Ash saying ' _i almost got caught by paul's big bro'_ and she quickly stuffed the phone back in her pocket.

They heard footsteps coming nearer and nearer as they all cowered in the corner.

The door swung open immediately, and Paul froze.

"H-hi," May stammered, squeezing Eeyore even more tightly.

Paul didn't reply. Instead, his eyes landed on the stuffed donkey May was holding. He clenched his fists and his eyes widened slightly. Yet still, he just stood there without saying anything.

"So, you like stickers?" Leaf asked nervously, fiddling with the sticker-book she had in her hands.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Closet," he growled through his gritted teeth. Nobody argued. They all got up and quickly exited the closet.

"I'll give you a better home," May whispered to the donkey extra quietly.

They were almost out of the door when Paul noticed that May was still holding Eeyore. He opened his mouth, but then closed it, but then he opened it again, and still no words came out.

Finally, he cleared his throat and went up to her.

"I don't think that's yours, is it?" he mumbled gesturing at the donkey.  
"Oh r-right," May stammered. "H-here's y-y-your donkey." She handed it to Paul who snatched it immediately.

"It's not mine," he said a bit more loudly. " _Obviously_. You seriously think _I_ would own such a childish toy?" The boy rolled his eyes.

"O-of course not," she replied looking embarrassed. "Silly me. Of course it's not yours. It just doesn't fit right with you." She gave a nervous laugh and rushed out of the room.

After making sure that everyone had left, Paul closed his bedroom door and gave Eeyore a little squeeze. He turned around to put it back into the closet when he nearly jumped to see that someone was still there.

Leaf smirked. "Just admit it," she said calmly. "That Eeyore is yours and you like it. You know that you do."

Paul didn't reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Get out of my room," he grumbled.

Leaf's smirk turned into an understanding smile. "Just admit it, Paul," she said softly. "I won't tell. I promise."

He thought for a moment. Then he put the donkey back into the closet and closed the closet door.

"Hn," he said finally. "Now go away."

"You know," sighed Leaf. "You're not alone. I also have a stuffed Piglet from Winnie the Pooh that I didn't tell anyone about. Maybe we should get our characters to meet someday. Eeyore might like that." she joked at the end.

Paul stared at her for a long time. He rolled his eyes.

"I don't even like Piglet," he mumbled without thinking.

"Why not?"

He glared at her. "Let's not get too deep into this, okay?"

"Okay, okay," she laughed. "Well anyways, bye for now." Saying that, she left the room while closing the door leaving Paul alone.

The boy walked back into his closet and shut the door.

"You know," he mumbled to his Eeyore while plopping beside him. "I should get a lock for my door."

"Yup," the donkey replied in a bored voice. "That girl nearly squeezed the life out of me."

Paul shuddered.

* * *

"Aww. I was almost _positive_ that that was his biggest secret!" cried Gary as they all walked on the sidewalk. "But then it turns out it wasn't even his!"

"What astonishes me the most," said May, "is that how the poor donkey ended up in _Paul's closet_."

"Maybe he uses it as a punching bag!" snickered Gary, causing the girl to scream. "Then one day, he would _rip it apart,_ and burn it in some fire to practice so he could do it to _Ash_ someday. Haha."

"Gary, that's not nice!" yelled Ash. "Maybe he hides a secret spy camera in it so—"

"Um Ash," Drew interrupted. "I highly doubt that. He keeps it in his closet all the time. What's in his closet that is to spy on?"

"You never know," the boy said mysteriously.

"I guess we'll never know his biggest secret," sighed Dawn.

Leaf smiled to herself. She had a feeling she would be the only one who would ever actually know...

* * *

 **And that is the end! I hoped you liked the story. It took a long time for me to decide whether Paul's biggest secret should be that he liked rainbows, he like bubbles, or he liked sparkles. But eventually, I decided having Eeyore would suit him most. After all, who doesn't like Winnie the Pooh? This story took longer writing than I expected. I had many ideas of what stuff they would find in his closet, but I didn't want to go too off topic. I changed and added parts, and sadly, had to remove some parts to stay in topic. But hey, guess what? Why not make a part in which I write all the 'cut' scenes! So here they are!  
**

 **1) Paul's conversation with Eeyore is longer:**

"Hey, I have a question," mumbled Paul.

"Yes?" replied the donkey in the same monotone.

"How _did_ I end up with you in the first place?"

"Beats me."

"You know what I hate? You always give the shortest answers."

"Uh-huh."

"Oh forget it," the boy mumbled while stuffing Eeyore back under the blanket. He left the closet and closed the door behind.

 **2) My first idea in which Gary is punching Eeyore as a joke and then Paul opens the closet door:  
**

The boy's eyes landed onto donkey as it was being beaten up by Gary as the girls shut their eyes. Paul widened his eyes.

"That's mine!" yelled Paul without thinking.

Everyone froze and stared.

"That's not mine," the boy re-arranged his words. "It's Reggie's," he lied. "And my brother won't be happy. Er, not that I care."

"Don't lie," Leaf snickered. Paul rolled his eyes.

"Yeah totally," the boy said 'sarcastically'. "Like I would lie about _this."_ The boy snatched the donkey away.

 **3) First I decided that Reggie would be the one who distracted Paul, and Ash is with the others in the closet:**

"Hey, I found a box of candy!" Ash whispered loudly.

"I'm sure he won't mind if we take just _some,_ " whispered Gary as he reached into the box and pulled out a toffee.

The others leaned forwards to look in the box. Dawn took an orange lollipop, Misty took a black coloured unknown candy, May took a dark chocolate bar, Leaf took what looked like a slimy black blob, Drew to a brown stick of gum, and finally, Ash took what looked strangely like a beetle.

They all plopped the candies into their mouths at the count of three but all except Leaf spit the candy out immediately.

"The lollipop was already wet," groaned Dawn.

"That was the worst thing I have ever tasted," spat Drew.

"This is so horrible that it's good!" laughed Leaf as she continued chewing the black slimy blob.

 **4) They all are searching the blankets when a tarantula comes out:**

A hairy thin leg poked out of a blanket just as Dawn was reaching for it. A tarantula scuttled out and the girl gasped and backed away.

"Scared of a little spider?" taunted Gary although he could clearly see that it was not even close to little. He picked it up and without thinking, he placed the tarantula on Dawn's head.

"AAAHHHH!" screamed Dawn frantically shaking her head. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Panic-stricken at her friend's situation, May started screaming too. "DAWN! ARE YOU OKAY?"

Quickly, May grabbed the nearest book and wacked it onto the tarantula, but it was too fast. This caused it to scuttle onto Dawn's face which made her scream even louder.

The boys burst out laughing, but not for long. Just then, they heard footsteps coming nearer and nearer. They all froze. Paul had heard the scream and had come too see what was all the noise...

* * *

 **And yes, that's all. I hope you enjoyed both the story and the 'cut scenes'. Anyways, R &R and have a great day!  
**


End file.
